An Empirical Investigating of the Effect of Case Study on Students’ Learning Outcomes in Construction Engineering

This paper investigates the effect of case study on improving students’ learning outcomes in construction engineering using the Laboratory for Innovative Technology and Engineering (LITEE) survey instrument. The central research question is to determine whether using case study has a significant effect on improving students’ learning outcomes. Five constructs have been used to assess students’ learning outcomes: Higher order cognitive domain of learning, self-efficacy, ease of learning, team working, and communication skills. The authors collected both quantitative (survey) and qualitative (open ended questions) data on learning outcomes and students’ perceptions on the effectiveness of case study. The results showed that working with real case studies significantly improves student’s higher-order cognitive domain of learning. The authors' findings suggest that case study can be used as an effective tool to improve students’ learning in the classroom.